Nate McKenna’s Tyderium

This was the first model I used lights in so it was a pilot project of sorts. For servicing I needed to get back into the model, so some screw heads are visible on the wings and the back panel. My models hang from the ceiling from fishing line which shows in the pix. And since they hang, I usually omit the landing gear, which were pretty junky in the case of this kit anyway.

I scratched the little area between each of the two lower guns. I also scratched the detail in the crevices that go around the wings based on the box art and conjecture. The engine holes were cut out and the middle hinge on each of the lower wings was drilled through to accept wiring. Also the upper wing had a channel cut in its tab for some wires.

The insides of the ship were painted both black and silver to stop light leak from the “blinding output SMD LEDs”. The model was first painted all over with German grey (a dark blueish grey) and then coated with Future. Next it got three coats of white tinted with a little German grey after which the edges of the panels were sanded through, using very little force, with 1500 grit to expose the dark grey, the Future acting as a barrier coat. The raised panel lines got this treatment as well. It’s subtle but it looks good, better than the pictures show.

Then some dark grey was streaked on and some rust too to show a little wear. A medium grey (derived from the German grey) was painted on the darker wing panels. Since it’s ‘sposed to be a newer ship, I only dirtied it a little. Less is more, they say. Also the wing crevices were given the medium grey with just a touch of blue more. The guns were airbrushed and drybrushed with some black. The whole thing was topcoated with Future, then gently dulled with fine steel wool.

The way the lights work is the two white lights on all the wings and the two white lights on the bottom flash on for one second and then off for the next and repeat. The four blue LEDs that light the engines flash at a high rate maybe 50 times a seconds. And there is a constant white LED in the cockpit that I ended up tinting green with some paint because it was too bright. The switch is at the top of the aft greebly area.

I’ve included the schematic of how I lit it. Basically it uses a 4060 chip powered by two 9V batteries to light 13 “Blinding output SMD LEDs”, purchased from The Electronic Goldmine. The SMD (surface mounted device) LEDs are tiny and a pain in the neck to work with, you have to put them in a helping hands to solder leads on them. The thing I like is that they have 120 Degrees of viewing instead of 30 Degrees for a lot of LEDs. So you can see them most of the time , not just when you’re in the right place. And they are VERY bright.

If I did this project again I would do three things differently. Use a thinner and braided wire. The stuff I used fatigues and snaps after bending a few times. Secondly I would use resistors to protect my series LEDs. I just got stupid, and will end up going back and fixing that when something blows. Thirdly I would stick the LEDs out a little more so they’re a little more visible particularly the bottom ones. Because my Tyderium hangs up high, the LEDs on the upper wing were hardly visible and I added some ad-hoc metal reflectors to improve things (although they look…um, ad-hoc).

The engine lighting device is made from a clear (not blue) acrylic rod, 5/8 I think. Purchased from Tap Plastics. The rod was cut to length, the ends progressively sanded and then polished. The rod was marked through the plastic kit opening (which has to be cut out) then the rod was carefully sanded inside and just a bit over those lines to make an area for the light to diffuse from while the polished areas keep bouncing the light inside the rod. Two already soldered blinding blue SMD LEDs on each side were glued in place with a tiny amount of clear liquid nails. They were glued at the aft most end of the cut rod so they would not be directly visible.

Cover any exposed wire or lead with this glue too then apply Bare Metal Foil over the entire assemblage including the ends. I made a little metal clip to hold the thing in place. Then the foil was carefully cut away to expose the sanded area using the kit hole once again. My pictures are in bright daytime indirect sunlight and the engines show okay, but in less light they look about as good as a florescent bulb only way way bluer. It really surprised me how awesomely well this works and it’s all self contained and repairable.

Nate McKenna